Winter Deaths Spike as NYC Faces Homeless Crisis

Clear Facts

• Nineteen homeless deaths have been reported in New York City amid severe winter weather.
• Mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa attributes the crisis to the city’s sanctuary policies and the strain from accommodating illegal aliens.
• New York City spent nearly $7 billion in recent years on migrant housing and services, sparking criticism over neglected homeless citizens.

A dangerous winter has taken a deadly toll on New York’s homeless, with nineteen dying as frigid conditions swept the city.

Curtis Sliwa, mayoral candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels, argues city sanctuary policies for illegal aliens have overburdened shelters and forced vulnerable New Yorkers onto the streets.

“I’m watching emotionally disturbed persons and homeless people exhibit Darwinian traits. Survival of the fittest,” Sliwa stated.

Sliwa recounted a case of a homeless man with partial disability losing both his shoes to more aggressive homeless individuals, underscoring the competition for limited resources.

“A lot of this is the result of Eric Adams’ failures as mayor, in which he housed a lot of the migrants, at the expense of our own homeless,” Sliwa remarked.

He continued, “They spent $7 billion housing migrants that we didn’t even know in hotels, motels, giving them lodging, food, clothing. Okay. But we weren’t doing likewise with our own homeless and more importantly, the emotionally disturbed who should have been brought to mental health care hospitals because they clearly are a danger to themselves and everyone else.”

In the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, New York allocated $6.77 billion to house and assist migrants, covering shelter, hotels, food, legal aid, and relocation.

According to Sliwa, this approach leaves the city’s own homeless behind. “Now we’re beginning to pay the price that our own homeless, who are out on their own for many months, many years as a result of the priority being the migrants.”

Sliwa noted a lack of visible help from city outreach workers under Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “I don’t see any of the homeless outreach workers that the mayor keeps talking about,” he said.

Skeptics argue Mayor Mamdani’s decision to end encampment sweeps has made winter more deadly for the city’s homeless. Brian Stettin, a senior adviser in the Adams administration, said, “When a person is in imminent danger, there is no debate. Whatever ideological divides we should not have any impact on these policies during a ‘Code Blue.’”

Sliwa lamented his nonprofit’s limited powers, adding, “We’re just citizens,” and noted only city agencies can legally move people indoors for their safety. “That has to be done by the city, the police department, and other agencies—but they’re just not doing that.”

For more information on New York’s homeless crisis, see the full report:

Read more here

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